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INNER CITY GOLD
Synopsis

The Garden Café is the ultimate hangout spot for best pals Rex, Jean, Frances, Avner and Jared. Years after their high school graduation, they’re still together and are still chasing their personal desires in their downtown home.

Rex is a language teacher who secretly dreams of making it in a prestigious arts institute. Jean is still tracking down the yellow pages and newspapers for job opportunities. Frances works in a chocolatier while waiting for a rich man to sweep her off her feet. Avner is determined to take his long-term relationship with his girlfriend to the next level, while Jared manages to put his poetic and bartending abilities into good use as he struggles with commitment to work.

With each other’s help, their career and love lives begin to take flight. Rex becomes a popular tutor in the critically-acclaimed Bailey, Jean finally scores a job at the tourist information center in a five-star hotel, Avner successfully finds the perfect engagement ring for Grace, Frances discovers the real meaning of true love in a young lawyer named Stan, and Jared gets to build his own lounge. But slowly, they start to drift apart and lose contact with each other. The feeling of pride dominates them, allowing them to think they can survive being single fighters, unaware of the fact that no one can stay at the top forever.

As time passes by, things start to go wrong, and their lives are going down the sink. In moments of desperation, they begin to think about the people who have supported them along the way and who have helped them achieve their ambition. It’s only their realization about the importance of their loved ones’ support that can reunite them and help them to stand strong in a competitive world where one can easily score a number of false friends and true enemies.

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Quotes from the Script

Avner: That’s one perfect reason why we have the word ‘idiot’ in the dictionary.

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Rex: Exhilirating! I got the second highest votes for Best Tutor.

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Frances: Saturday morning brings all the strawberries, don’t you think?

Jean: A hundred percent true. Not having to get up early to work nine to five. You can own the world in a single bubble bath.

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Jared: I’m still adding some stuff. Making my newest compilation. This time, I’m serious about sending it to a publisher.

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Stan: See all those dudes? They don’t even know how to surf.

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Grace: Did it ever cross your mind that we might be rushing things?

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Bobby: Been here for three consecutive years, and this place is still an equivalent of Mount Olympus. You’ll know what I mean if you’ve survived at least six months.

When he was announced to be one of the contestants to have secured enough votes to move on to the FINAL 12 spot, we all went speechless -some in an amused way, some in total disbelief. I used to log in to the official Idol website message board, and most of the members were pretty vocal in expressing their hatred towards the announcement.

Comments like these are all over the place:
‘What the heck happened!? Why did that alien from outer space get through over the others?’
‘He’s creepy, and his rendition of the song is creepy too. That’s it! This is the last time I’m watching Idol!’
‘You got it wrong, Australia! Shame on you!’
‘He puts me straight into bed with that boring, weird interpretation of "Under the Milky Way".’

If you asked me, I went off with the fourth one. Indeed, he was really boring in the semifinals. It’s as if he’s about to jump off to bed as soon as he’s done. Sure he has a unique voice and style, but at that moment, I still didn’t get what the judges and some of the audiences were fussing about when they constantly gave him appraisals.

I have no expectation as to what he’s gonna do with Idol. A lot of other people on the boards and I have come up with a thought that he’s gonna be the first one to pack his suitcase in the FINAL 12 show.

But Bobby proved us wrong. Well, not all of us. But he did prove me wrong! Because that guy is getting better and better each week. Now I know why Mark Holden always says: ‘You always surprise us, Bobby! That’s what we like about you.’

Yes, ’surprise’ is a good thing. Everybody loves surprises, and that’s what Mr Flynn offered all the time. He continually changed a song into his own style and sang it as though it’s his own- and that’s where his originality was shown. What a fantastic, different modern-style crooner.

Even when he’s out of his league once and the judges pointed out he lose track, I thought they need to get their ears checked, ’cause that rendition of "Arthur’s Theme" did get me. Maybe it’s for the fact that it’s predictable, and we keep on expecting surprises.

But Bobby did come back with an unexpected adaptation of "Under Pressure". He tried to show he’s under pressure with the competition, but that performance scored him a touchdown. Well done!

Then came the time when he made it to the bottom 3 for the first time, and fellow contestants Ricky and Lisa are in the same position. This happened two days ago- the Monday verdict. After the all-new ‘guitar night’, Bobby’s journey on Idol must come to a stop.

Because of his hard work and excellent effort, we could only gasp in horror. ‘What!? Bobby over the monotonous, flat-voiced Lisa? This can’t be real!’ But he gracefully thanked all of us for having him in the competition, and when asked to perform for us one last time, he really felt honored to do it. With all his mannerisms, we’re really seeing a truly professional artist. Hey, the guy has his own charms =D

Well, last night was an ‘Up Close and Personal’ show, and the remaining contestants have their chance to play their own original materials on stage. This is the first time in any Idol history that contestants get to show off their talent on a deeper level. It has never happened to American Idol, Indonesian Idol, Canadian Idol and other Idol shows. Before Monday night’s verdict, a decision has been made that the finalist who has been voted off will not be able to sing in the ‘Up Close and Personal’ night. But we all knew from the very start that Bobby has been spending half of his life creating his own songs. So they let Bobby in. Phew!

He’s a soon-to-be legend. Well, we all know we ain’t seen the last of Bobby Flynn. I’d be one of the first to line up to buy his debut album the day it’s released One day will come, and that day will be Bobby…

Photos courtesy of Australian Idol® produced by Grundy Television PTY Limited, a FremantleMedia Company, for Network Ten based on the format owned by FremantleMedia Ltd and 19 TV Ltd. © 2006 Grundy Television Pty Limited Australia and New Zealand © 2006 FremantleMedia Ltd, rest of the World. Licensed by FremantleMedia Licensing Worldwide.

So it’s the thing I’ve been waiting for… the RMIT Idol. If the reality show isn’t my time yet (somehow I know I’ll pass the first round, at least), then maybe I could start off from the lower level and build my way up again.

I don’t know, but it seems that I kinda lose my energy a bit. Been more than 10 months since the last time I got up on stage. That’s right, I haven’t done any singing ever since graduation. And… I DO miss it a lot! All these screenwriting and filmmaking stuff seemed a bit too much, and sometimes I need a serious break… to get out of that monotone thing and come back to what I’m notable of doing in the past.

Despite my interest in the world of movies and music, I’m very certain that music is probably what I love most, and now I’m struggling to relive my passion.

As for RMIT Idol, it’s not the $1000 cash that I’m aiming for (though it might be nice to get some extra money, lol). I’m doing it for the sake of being able to sing on stage again. Seeing all those audiences cheering for you and being entertained and inspired… It feels great. And meeting up with people who share common goals is just fantastic. I could learn stuff from them. Who knows they might’ve had more experiences than I do. Well, we’re always learning in every stage of our lives, right?

Anyway, when I was filling out the form, they gave room for us to choose 3 song preferences from a separate song list book. Since I got no more than 2 weeks to perform, I decided to stay on the ’safe side’ by picking songs I’ve sung before in my high school years- those that I’m familiar with. Well, actually, one of them is totally new, but it’s not hard to follow along and is quite catchy as well.

Now I need you to help out in picking the better one for me to sing. Here’s the list:

1st preference -> "Miss Independent" (Kelly Clarkson) ~I sang this twice in senior high <one for my friend’s b’day & one for the graduation>

2nd preference -> "I Don’t Want A Lover" (Texas) ~ Haven’t sang this one at all, but am willing to try it out. Just wondering if I should go for this one

3rd preference -> "My Cherie Amor" (Stevie Wonder) ~ Sang this before, and still love it. The thing is that it has lower range, so I may not showcase the energy in my voice. But looking forward to sing it in the future.

So based on your opinion, which song do you think I should give a go?

Heaps of thanks in advance. My one-stop tip for all of you reading this (I may have said it often back then, but let me say it again): dream on! Don’t let anything get in your way. It’s your life, it’s your choice. You’re free to make up your own decisions

In the meantime, I’m keeping on living my amazing life here in Melbourne while constantly searching for opportunities to sing in live events. I hope it’ll all work out soon.

Just to remind you aLL that no matter what the outcomes, just keep on studying. This may seem like a BIG challenge to all of us (and indeed, it is!), but in the end, it’s ONLY a SMALL step to the long journey ahead (true indeed, man). Mari kita mengingat apa kata Pak Kris: Kalaupun nanti hasilnya jauh dari apa yang kita expeCt, just say it to ourselves -"So what!?" Asal kita udah memaksimalkan usaha kita, then those will be the best results we could get, and there’s no need to regret it. Yang penting skrg kita berusaha dulu, okay??? =D Let’s do it, mate! Ha3

Akhir kata, secara official, gw mau ucapin lots of luck to my fellow HSC mateS. Karena udah banyak yang ungkit "aja aja fighting" (hehe), gw akan menyebutkan phrase yang rada berbeda: CARPE DIEM! Artinya "SeiZe the DaY".

        TIS ONLY IN THEIR DREAMS THAT MEN TRULY BE FREE,
            ’TWAS ALWAYS THUS, AND ALWAYS THUS WILL BE

Dari mana phrase itu muncul? Silahkan saksikan "Dead Poets Society", one of the most inspiring movies of all time in the history of mankind, which stars Robin Williams in his critically-acclaimed role as a teacher who change the lives of his fellow students in an ‘unchanging’, strict community. Please do see it after the exams are over. I really, really recommend it for those who haven’t watch it. =D Sangat captivating!

Anyway, CARPE DIEM to all of you! All the besT from JuLeZ =D

-May the LORD bless us all from here to eternity-

Saturday, October 1st 2005. Yet another night of extreme infamy. I was enjoying my dinner with my family here in Jakarta when that nightmare made a returning strike on this nation’s "Tourist Paradise". What a tragic irony! It wasn’t ’til an hour later that I was notified about the issue through forwarded SMS-es from few of my schoolmates. And you know the first thing that bursted into my mind? This is injustice! The re-occurring tragic event is sinking the reputation of our country to the maximum level. If this has any relation with several affairs (I won’t mention them here for the sake of not offending any specific community, ’cause I’m trying to be generally neutral like the Indonesian public), then what are those irresponsible individuals with cruel intentions doing!? Does bombing public areas and killing innocent souls give a sense of personal satisfaction!? Is that the game they’re playing? Well, that was such a disgraceful action! And it’s not only me who came out with that opinion.

I don’t wanna be too involved politically for security reasons, but I have the right to demand that justice should immediately be served. Mann, whatever happened to our plan for the farewell trip to Bali… I guess it’s history now. But let us all pray for the healing of this country. God, I hope You bless the entire nation…

BeinG the phLegmatic person that I useD to be (well, you all told me so, he3), I’m trying to be more accuRate and responsible when it comes to time maNagemenT and will also be FASTER in doing things. =D and I guess you all could’ve done any improvement in your study time in your owN flexibLe way (if you neeD to).

Now don’T get me wroNg, but these top 10 adviCes (or insane tips) might be useful for you aLL in living up this monTh (as some of you have requesTed for me to put’em here). Alright, this is my oWn verSion. But this only acts as an inspiraTion. Who knowS you got a beTTer one!? I’m NOT some kind of a doctor or philosopHer, so don’T take ev’rything seriousLy =D

1) Jot down some of the Physics/Biology/ChemistRy terms that you find them hard to understand in a PosTer format and with a BIG font siZe (you might as well add some coLorful pictures) and stick the poster behind the toileT door. Well, what elSe could you possiBly do while you’Re there!? Reading those terms severaL times would instantLy make the materials stored inside your head for a longer term! Believe me, I’ve tried it during this holiday and found it working weLL! =D

2) Don’t diEt for those who do! Just eat in a normal portion every morning, noon & nigHt and take a 5-minute "in-place" jogging when you got up or run up and down the stairs untiL you sweaT as a form of exercise. The resuLt will be baLanced!!! PhysiCaL & menTaL heaLth is important to your study process!

3) StarT applying for uni (if you’re planning to study in one in the beginning of neXt year), either individuaLLy through online application or with the help of a counseLLor in an educaTion centre. My adviCe is: don’t just focus on your one & only preferred uni. Try to have an alternatiVe, just in case you’re noT accePted(well, good or bad news can happEn to any1 right?) So, in conclusion, try to apply for two or mOre uni! When the first choice fade, you could always launch Plan B. Apply righT away, ’cause time is ruNNing!!!

4) Take a nap if you feeL you neEd it. You’ve beeN stuDying at scHooL for almost a year long, and mann, your brain surely deserves a "comfy" sleep just like you.

5) If you feeL you Need to skiP any form of party (EXCEPT your friend’s b’day ceLebration of coursE =D) for the sake of stuDying part of the mateRiaLs you never actuaLLy understand, then do so for your oWn gooD!

6) Go ouT & haVe fun juSt onCe in every wEekenD. Count this one as a form of refreShment after spending the entire week learNing at scHooL. Go to the cineMa, get a sip of hot chocoLate at a bar in a maLL & other thingS but limit yourseLf! Stay for just 2 -3 hourS & returN homE.

7) You don’t have to spEnd your weeKend reviewing & reviewing! Make youR own scheDuLe (for example, after having breakfast, you might spend 50 minutes of reading your chosen mateRiaL, then watch a movie or TV show. As soon as you finish lunch, try to spend 30 more minuTes to do anothEr revieW. Then you mighT wanna cheCk your e-maiL or download some songs on the comPuter for 45 minutes before taking a biT of a Nap and so and so). That form of meThod is effective. Well, at least you got time for a biT of everyThing you likE. And it may be wayyyy better than starTing to study everything just a weEk before the exAm!

Drink HOT tea inbetweeN-study breaKs at home. Ask your beloved momma to make it for you if you’re too tireD =p

9) ListeN to your fave musiC to ease your minD. Or dance to da rhythM if you want to! Hwa9 But I’d rathEr siNg

10)In the enD, don’t stress & don’t panic! Though it’s HSC, you shouldn’t think of it as a ‘Death TraiL’ (hwaaaa gawatt). With reguLar everyday preparation (balanced with doing your favoriTe stuffs), everything should’ve been fine.

BONUS: The one great key word is "REVIEW"! After aLL, there ain’t gonna be any new materiaL to study right? The remaining 4-weeks time is all ’bout reviewing! Review, review & review! That’s the soluTion! =D

Alright, this is driving myseLf insane! Sorry, just got the pre-HSC shoCk =p But anyway, we’d better staRt storing our brain, ey??? =D

Alrite, back 2 da topic. In several cases, I always wonder why:

* people tend to respect those with higher authorities but not those with poor background (economically) in life

* discrimination, racism and unfair treatment towards other individuals are still common issues in the media

* I’m always pushed to achieve ‘better’ scores at school when they realize and I realize my limitations and that I always have done my best but that’s the maximum mark I could get, so why am I forced?  Hmm…

* most individuals tend to study courses at university that lead to easy-to-find jobs. I’m not saying that it’s wrong (remember, this is just rhetorical, so think globally), but people always urge me to take majors that have wider career prospects, but I don’t care about money. I care ’bout my passion! For all my fellow schoolmates, we all have studied about ‘Journey’, right? Maybe I am the persona in "The Road Not Taken", ’cause "2 roads diverged in a yellow wood, and I’ll take the one less traveled by, and that will make all the difference", and I’m satisfied with that. Well, the money is another story to me. What about you???

* "Intellectual" is the word that is mostly appreciated than "the sense of ART"? Well, this is in the BUSINESS contexT. So the business sector is much more filled with loads of workers than an art-related job. But I guess business is a form of ‘art’ (in a different way) huh? And even an art is business. So, is vice versa the key answer??

* da sky iz blue (hwa9 yg ini gak bangetZ! 4get thiz 1)

Hmm…again, just a reminder that these are not meant to be answered (but do so if you want to). Just wonderin’ what do you have to say about any or all of those topics? Got any common experience? Don’t 4get to drop your perspectives on the Comments section, alrite? ha3

God bless you all! =D

Umm skedar info tambahan, theSe r my hiGhLightS so far:

* "I Believe I Can Fly" (R Kelly) -> ultah Cindy (d sini brg Massela, Marta + Pampam)
* "Can’t Take My Eyes of you" (Various) -> ultah MarTa
* "My Cherie Amor" (Stevie Wonder) -> ultah Evelyn
* "Shadow" (Ashlee Simpson) -> ultah Tifany
* "Shop Around" (Smokey Robinson) -> ultah Massela
* "Sunny" (Marvin Gaye) -> ultah Massela jg
* "How you Remind me" (Nickleback) -> ultah Jepur
* "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" (Green Day) -> mine
* "One for My Baby" (Frank Sinatra/Robbie Williams) -> mine jg

Err jadi kira2 keliatan kLo basiCaLLy, I sing jaZz, R & B, rock ‘n’ roll, moTown and easy liSteNing songs from the 70’s etc. Tapi my fave music genre jg meliputi soul, country & blues and other thingZ.

O ya, klo brminat hub. gw buat nyanyi, klo bisa tlg usahakan kontak gw minimal sebuLan sebeluM party-nya ok? Takutnya gw ada halangan jd kaga bisa. He3

Yahh kiranya segitu aj promonya. Ntar pada cape lagi, ngebacanya =p OK thankies sebesar2nya 4 ur attenTion. God bless you all!

P.S. Bwat info lebih lanjut, jgn ragu2 hub. gw

Apa itu kesempurnaan? Hayoo ada yang mau kasih penjelasan? Well, apapun versi jawaban kamoe2 smua, ada satu hal yang pasti: kesempurnaan itu merupakan satu titik yang diincar oleh seluruh individu di Planet Bumi ini. Itu adalah sebuah destinasi di mana individu yang berhasil mencapainya dapat memperoleh kesempurnaan yang "eTeRnAL"/"EvErLaStInG", di mana ia tidak memiliki kesalahan atau kecerobohan sekecil apapun sehingga menjadi seseorang dengan kesempurnaan yang sangat sempurna. Jika itu terjadi, tercapailah apa yang disebut dengan "infinity". Dengan demikian, individu tersebut telah berhasil menginjak puncak yang disebut THE POINT OF DISTINCTION. Yahhh memang merupakan sebuah idealisme semua org untuk menjadi sempurna…

…TAPI seberapa pentingnyakah kesempurnaan itu sendiri? Kenapa orang terus tanpa hentinya mencari2 destinasi itu, meski mereka udah capai2 keliling seluruh bagian di bumi ini (sampe udah ngabisin kaleng Milo dalam jumlah yang tak terhitung biar energi terus ‘terisi’ <gak jelas ya>) tanpa mendapatkan hasil sedikitpun!? Memang, destinasi ‘kesempurnaan’ itu tidak dapat dicapai dengan cara apapun, karena realitanya kesempurnaan itu hanyalah sebuah ilusi. It doesn’t exist! X-cept for the Lord our creator… Q-ta terus percaya bahwa kesempurnaan itu ada (pastinya dalam kehidupan nyata, q-ta sering mendengar pernyataan bahwa ‘tidak ada seorang atau satu halpun di dunia ini yang sempurna, & pastinya q-ta setuju, tapi dalam kondisi di mana q-ta melakukan suatu kesalahan atau kecerobohan yang membuat diri q-ta malu dihadapan publik, tanpa q-ta sadari, q-ta sendiri pasti berharap adanya ‘kesempurnaan’ & langsung memulai suatu ekspedisi untuk mencapai destinasi itu), tapi nyatanya kesempurnaan itu benar2 "non-existent".

Entah apa benar2 "non-existent" atau sebenarnya ada tapi "invisible"… Tapi apapun yang terjadi, gw teteup percaya sama pilihan pertama, yaitu "non-existent".

Jadi, apa gunanya q-ta selalu mengejar2 nilai tertinggi di kelas tetapi nilai maksimum yg q-ta dapatkan hanya separuhnya, & q-ta sedih berlarut2 sampai lebih dari seminggu (ada loh di dunia nyata yg seperti itu). Atau contoh lainnya, q-ta berambisi mengikuti lomba lari & q-ta terus berlatih hanya u/ mengetahui bahwa q-ta gagal di "medan perang", lalu kekecewaan q-ta begitu besar sehingga dapat merugikan org laen juga (kasian kan klo q-ta lagi kecewa sama diri ndiri, trs ada org lain yang maksudnya mau ngebantu, tapi alhasil q-ta ngomel2 gk jelas ama dy).

So what’s the point of perfection??? Klo teori saya seperti yang dah disebutkan di atas. Teori Anda bisa saja berbeda. Jadiiiiiii, jgn lupa nge-drop komentar loe2 smua otre!? Sementara ini, gw mau ngabisin kopi gw dulu PLUS gw jg mau ngelahap opera cake yang dari tadi dah nungguin bwat dimakan =p Ditunggu ya comments-nya =D

Hmm…now the question: is who will be the next American Idol? We’ll see next year in Season 5……………………. (still a long way to go)